Envelope



. Fell 6, 1940- w. P. sHoMAkER 2,189,273

v ENvELoPE Filed June 29, 1938 lNvENTOR /aZeg .2? omakf www ATTORN EYPatented Feb. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in envelopes, and to means foropening sealed envelopes; and it relates more particularly to thosesingle and double envelopes in which offerings in the form of coin,currency, or cheques are usually enclosed. When such envelopes aresealed by the old and usual means, it is a lengthy task to open a largenumber of them and to remove the contents. It would be a differentmatter to simply tear the envelope apart; but in many cases this wouldprolong rather than shorten the work, because, on the face and back ofthe envelope there are usually printed headings indicating thedestination of the offering, quota'- tions, and a numeral identifyingthe giver. It is' most desirable therefore not to destroy the envelopeuntil the offering has been extracted, and its destination and thenumber of the giver have been recorded. 1

Other envelopes have been designed with a similar object in View; butmany have failed because of the cost of manufacture, or because theenvelope had 'some feature which interfered with the perfection of theprinting on the face and on the back of the envelope. Others have beenunpopular 'because they have been no easier to open than is an envelopewith an ordinary closure.

If the flap of an envelope is gummed and is held down to its very edge,it requires more or less time to insert a paper opener or a finger nailunder the ap in order to raise lt.

If the ap has a V-shaped outline, and the V be left ungummed, we thenhave either an insecure fastening; or the point of the flap is helddown.

But the ap with a -V outline is objectionable for the reason mentionedabove. If a line of printing crosses the point of the flap the pressureof the type is much greater on the flap than it is on either side of theflap; and consequently the impression of the line of type is notuniform. This is the case whether the impression be made on the face oron the back of the envelope; because, at the V we have three thicknessesof paper, while on either side of the V we have two thicknesses ofpaper. Consequently, on whichever side of the envelope the type isimpressed, the counteracting pressure of the paper stock is uneven. Forthis reason, as well as for the sake of economy in material, it isdesirable that the outline of the flap be rectangular, and that thebottom or free edge of the flap be in line with and parallel to thelines of printing upon the envelope.

The objects of my invention are to provide an envelope which shall beuseful; which shall be low in cost ofv manufacture; which shall be thesame in outline and cut of paper forboth the single and the double typesof envelope; which shall present an even surface for the printing; whichshall be easily opened; and which can be rapidly opened, whether it beof the single or the double type.

These objects I attain in the envelope shown in the drawing; in which-Figure I shows the completed envelope, open;

Figure II shows the same envelope, closed;

Figure III shows the envelope blank, cut and gummed, before folding;

Figure IV shows the closed envelope about to be opened;

Figure V shows the envelope after it has been opened.

In Figure III the numeral 2 indicates the paper blank which when foldedwill take the shape shown in Figure I (open) and in Figure II A(closed).Assume that we are looking at the inside surfaces of the envelope; then3 is the inside of the back of the envelope; 4 is the inside of thefront of the envelope; 5 is the mouth flap; and 6, 6 are the end flaps,all of said iaps being integral with the front wall 4.

In the back of the envelope, 3, I cut a tab 1. This I do by means of asteel hollow punch having a cutting or punching edge 8'shaped as asemicircle, or in any other suitable form. The cut is short; barely morethan a semicircle, the diameter of which is about eleven-sixteenths ofan inch-more or less. The upper end of the cut forming the tab is abouton the line of the edge of the mouth flap when the envelope is closed;see Figure II. 'Ihe portion of the back wall 3 immediately above the cutforms the base portion of the tab.

On the inside of the mouth ap I place av narrow strip, or a series ofdots, of gum, I0.

On the inside of the back, 3, of the envelope, and at its two ends, Iplace narrow strips or dots of gum, I 2, which, when the envelope isfolded and closed will be made to adhere to the end aps 6, 6. If theenvelope blank be now folded we shall produce a single envelope; thatis, an envelope having a single pocket the full length of the envelope.y

On the inside of the back of the envelope, and at the middle of itslength, I place a short strip, or a dot, of gum, above the tab l,indicated at I4; while below the tab l, and adjacent thereto, I place astrip or dots of gum I6. On the tab itself there is no gum. The gum atI4 and I6 is indicated by dotted lines in Figures I and II. The gum I4and I6, and the tab 1 are in the medial line of the envelope extendingfrom top to bottom as shown.

The difference between the single and the double envelopes is that inthe former the gum at I4 and I6 is not used. In the case of a largeorder of single envelopes, this gum would not be used at I4 and I6 atall. But it is also possible to place gum at I0, I2, Il', and IB; allowthe gum to dry; and then at any time prepare single envelopes by foldingand dampening only the gum at I2; or double envelopes by dampening thegum at I2, H, and I6.

In some cases double envelopes are perforatedusually down their middleor, central linesso that the two halves may betorn apart and yet havetwo completely sealed envelopes. The perforations I8, Figures I and II,being made down the central line on which the adhesive is applied at Iland I6; when the halves of the envelope are separated, the separatededges will still be sealed together; and each half will have a half ofthe tab I. The separation may be eected before or after opening. 'I'hetab 'I, which is cut in the back wall of the envelope, is exposed belowthe edge of the flap 5 of the closed envelope, and normally lies in thesame plane as the back wall 3 to provide an even surface for printing.If the envelope be taken in hand, and it be bent, ever so slightly,along the line of its length (see Figure IV), the tab will rise from theback of the envelope; and it then be readily seized by the finger andthumb of the other hand. A pull on the tab in a direction away from thebott om of the envelope will lift the entire flap 5; and at the sametime the base portion of the tab will be torn from the back wall 3 ofthe envelope; though it remains held to the flap 5 by the gum I0. Notethat the tab 1 is just so wide, and consequently its adhesion to the gumIU so strong, that when its base portion is torn from the back of theenvelope and from the gum at I4, it remains attached to the flap 5. Thisre-opening of the envelope is shown in Figure V.

What I have said of the tab I remaining gummed to the inside of the flap5 when the envelope is opened, is equally true of the half tab and halfflap when the envelope is torn along the perforations I8 before theenvelope is opened. Whether the envelope be a single pocket envelope ora double pocket envelope there is only one tab; and the operation ofopening the envelope is the saine in either case.

I claim:

1. An envelope including a front wall and a back Wall, a flap integralwith the front wall and adapted to be folded over the back wall to covera, portion thereof, a free tab cut from the back wall and so locatedtherein as to be exposed for grasping when the ilap occupies its aboveindicated covering position, said tab having a base portion integralwith the back wall and so located as to be covered by the flap when thelatter is in the aforesaid covering position, and adhesive meansprovided on the envelope and so located as to operate as a fasteningmeans between the ilapand the aforesaid base portion, whereby, when theflap is fastened to the said base portion, the flap may be freed fromthe back wall by grasping the free tab and tearing out its base portionfrom the back wall.

2. An envelope including a front wall and a back wall, a flap integralwith the front wall and adapted to be folded over the back wall to covera portion thereof, a free tab cut from the back wall and so locatedtherein as to be exposed for grasping when the flap occupies its aboveindicated covering position, said tab normally lying in the same planeas the back wall whereby an even printing surface is presented butadapted to be projected from said plane for grasping by bending theenvelope, said tab having a base portion integral with the back wall andso located as to be covered by the flap when the latter is in theaforesaid covering position, and adhesive means provided on the envelopeand so located as to operate as a fastening means between the ap and theaforesaid base. portion, whereby, when the flap is fastened to the saidbase portion, the flap may be freed from the back wall by grasping thefree tab and tearing out its base portion from the back wall.

3. An envelope including a front wall and a back wall, a flap integralwith the front wall and adapted to be folded over the back wall to covera portion thereof, a free tab cut from the -back wall and so locatedtherein as to be exposed for grasping when the flap occupies its aboveindicated covering position, said tahhaving a base portion integral withthe back wall and so located as to be covered by the nap when the latteris in the aforesaid covering position, a spot of adhesive joining saidbase portion to the front wall on a medial line of the envelopeextending through said tab, adhesive means joining portions of the frontfand* back walls together on said medial line at a portion thereofadjacent to but spaced from said tab and on the opposite side of the tabfrom said spot of adhesive, and adhesive means provided on the envelopeand so located as to operate as a fastening means between the iap andthe aforesaid base portion, whereby, when the flap is fastened to thebase portion, the flap may be freed from the back wall by grasping thetab and tearing out its base portion from the back wall.

4. An envelope including a front wall and a back wall, a flap integralwith the front wall and adapted to be folded over the back wall to covera portion thereof, a free tab cut from the back wall and so locatedtherein as to be exposed for grasping when the flap occupies its aboveindicated covering position, said tab normally lying inthe same plane asthe back wall whereby an even printing surface is presented but adaptedto be projected from said plane for grasping by bending the envelope,said tab having a base portion integral with the back wall and solocated as to be covered by the flap when the latter is in the aforesaidcovering position, a spot of adhesive joining said base portion to thefront wall on a medial line of the envelope extending through said tab,adhesive means joining portions of the front and back walls together onsaid medial line at a portion thereof adjacent to but spaced from saidtab and on the opposite side of the tab from said spot of adhesive, andadhesive pro' vided on the envelope and so located as to operate as afastening means between the flap and the aforesaid base portion,whereby, when the flap is fastened to the base portion. the flap may befreed from the back by grasping the tab and tearing out its base portionfrom the back wall.

5. In a quick-opening envelopeA having a closure flap on its front wall,foldable over the rear wall to close the opening of said envelope, acutout pulling tab in the body of said rear wall, below the free edge ofsaid flap, the uncut portion of said rear wall adjacent said tab forminga securing web for said tab, said web being so located as to lie beneathsaid flap when the latter is closed, amd a limited area of gumming onsaid "flap substantially in line with said pulling tab, whereby whensaid tab is pulled upwardly, said flap will be pulled therewith to openthe envelope.

WESLEY P. SHOMAKER.

